Cpl. Frank G. Knapp

Parents: James & Willa Knapp

Siblings: 3 brothers

Home: 2715 Delaware Street - Saint Joseph, Missouri

Enlisted:

    - Missouri National Guard 

Inducted:

    - U. S. Army

        - 10 February 1941 - Saint Joseph, Missouri

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

Units: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

            - Mariveles - POWs start march at southern tip of Bataan
            - POWs ran past Japanesee artillery firing at Corregidor
                - Americans on Corregidor returned fire
            - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars
                - each boxcar could hold eight horses or forty men
                - 100 POWs packed into each car
                - POWs who died remained standing
            - Capas - dead fell to floor as living left boxcars
            - POWs walked last ten miles to Camp O'Donnell
POW Camps: 

POW Camps:

    - Philippine Islands:

        - Camp O'Donnell

            - unfinished Filipino training base
            - Japanese put camp into use as POW Camp
            - only one water spigot for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate 

        - Cabanatuan #1

        - Las Pinas Detail

             - POWs built runways

    - Japan:

        - Omine Machi

            - POWs worked in coal mine

Hell Ship:

    - Canadian Inventor

        - Sailed: Manila - 4 July 1944

            - returned to Manila after one day with boiler problems

            - POWs remained in ship's holds

        - Sailed: 16 July 1944

            - left behind by convoy because of further boiler problems

        - Arrived: Takao, Formosa - 23 July 1944

            - salt loaded onto ship

        - Sailed: 4 August 1944

            - made its way up west coast of Formosa

        - Arrived: Keelung, Formosa - 5 August 1944

            - stayed 12 days for more boiler repairs

        - Sailed: 17 August 1944

            - additional boiler problems off Ryukyu Islands north of Formosa

            - stopped at Naha, Okinawa

            - ship spent six days in and out of Naha

        - Arrived: Moji, Japan - 1 September 1944

Liberated:

    - 15 September 1945

Military Career:

    - transferred to U.S. Air Force

        - retired after 22 years of service 

Note: Last living Missouri National Guardsman

Return to HQ Company